(How do you get them to show up?
How do you get them to phone in when they're going to miss or be late?
How do you get them to pay for missed lessons without having the
appearance of being a collection agent?
How do you get them out of the "disease of the month club"??
When it comes time to pay the bills, the absent student is a challenge
to the bank account! Been there TOO many times!!)
I'm repeating myself, but I will once again state that requiring payment
in advance of the lesson (whether by the semester or the month)
eliminates almost all of the above situations. You need to also
establish a Makeup policy which clearly states the conditions in which
you will make up a missed lesson. Put this in writing and hand it out
at the first lesson. (I only make up one lesson each semester now, and
know some teachers who don't give any!)
As for arriving late to lessons, simply let them know that you are glad
to teach them, but that you will have to stop the lesson when the next
student arrives, since the next student has paid for their lesson and
have arrived on time. Additionally, sometimes it helps to explain that
you have reserved a certain "time" for each student so that they start
thinking in terms of a reserved "time" rather than a just a "lesson".
Sharon Szymanski
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